Seeds of Doubt
by RaptorChicky
Summary: When does a simple blow to the head lead to Inuyasha's life completely flipped around? When its Naraku that takes him in... Different take on a old plot. Reviews highly desired. UPDATE: Part of Chap 4 is up. Short hiatus after this.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:**  When does a simple blow to the head lead to Inuyasha's life completely flipped around?  When it's Naraku that takes him in…  Slightly AUish.  (Small details are off)

**Disclaimer:**  Inuyasha?  Mine?  Yeah, right.  I wish.

**Rating:**  PG-13 (language, violence, possible sexual tensions, etc—you know…the fun stuff in life)

**Category:**  General/Drama, with some angst thrown in for the heck of it.

**Reviews:**  Heck yeah!  No flames please.

**A/N:**  Okay, I realize this particular plot point (amnesia) has been done before, but I highly doubt it's been done quite like this… (If there's any good amnesia stories within the Inuyasha fic-dom, feel free to tell me of them—I'd be interested to see how others have tackled the topic.)  I have to warn you, Inuyasha (whenever his fine self decides to show up) will be OOC for most, if not all, of this story, considering the stuff I'm gonna do to him.  Evil laughter fills the air, while RaptorChicky does the Dr. Evil pinky finger   It might be a little dark in spots (when compared to my previous works, anyway), and Inuyasha will be doing things he normally wouldn't even consider doing.  (That should give you a hint as to how much poopy will be hitting the fan…)  

                I'll shut up now…

Seeds of Doubt RaptorChicky (formally known as Liza2) 

**Chapter 1**

                "Kagome, stay here!"

                "But—"

                "No!  I will not allow my woman to be drawn into battle with this hound!  Stay put!"  Kouga dashed off, leaving Kagome coughing and waving away the dust he stirred up in his departure.

                "Dammit, Kouga-kun!" hissed the miko, stamping her foot petulantly.  "You guys need me for this one!"  But she remained where Kouga had ordered her to stay, fearing that she would anger the ookami if she followed.  The wolf was really starting to grate on her nerves: the clinginess, the overprotectiveness, and the complete lack of a clue that Kagome didn't want his protection.  She wanted Inuyasha's protection, but the hanyou wasn't there, just like he hadn't been there for her in the past 36 and a half days…

                Thirty-six and half days ago was the group's fight with a shard-amped oni and the last day they'd seen Inuyasha; Shippo and Kirara followed the dog demon's trail, only to find the end in the middle of a wide open meadow, accompanied  by the faint scent of his blood and another that made the two youkai shudder.  And thus started the 36 ½ days of searching and inquiries, both of which turned up nothing of their hanyou companion.  They'd asked Kouga and his pack for their help and even went so far as to ask Sesshoumaru if he'd seen his half brother.  Nothing from those two resources.  It was like Inuyasha had gone 'poof' and vanished from the face of the planet.

                And Kouga had taken full advantage of the inu-hanyou's absence, reestablishing his claim on Kagome and nearly killing her with all the attention he gave her.  Kagome couldn't work up the guts to tell the wolf off—she needed his help and didn't want to drive him completely away.

                Two weeks ago, the little group was detoured from their search for Inuyasha: stories were coming from the northwest of a very powerful inu-youkai wreaking havoc on all human settlements in the area.  This demon was causing so much death and destruction within the three weeks since his first attack, that people dubbed him the "Shiroshi," the White Death, the white referring to the gleaming white fur of the youkai's true form.  There were also stories of this Shiroshi utilizing a Shikon no kakera and that he was seeking out more.  It was a tough choice, it felt like they were abandoning Inuyasha, but Kagome and the others agreed that the Shiroshi needed to be stopped.

                And now, almost five weeks after the Shiroshi's first appearance, they had finally caught up to him and he was the "hound" Kouga had referred to.  Miroku and Sango, with Kirara, had already left, leaving Kagome to quibble with Kouga.

                Bringing us back to now…

                Kagome fretted, wanting to go along with the strong pull of a Shikon shard that came from the same direction Sango and the others had run off to, but that shard didn't belong to Kouga—the Shiroshi was packing the power of a Shikon.  Doubts sprang up in her mind like crabgrass.  _Maybe Kouga-kun's right.  It could be too dangerous.  We made Shippo stay behind for that very reason.  And I haven't been fighting like I used to…when Inuyasha was around…_

                The sounds of a battle joined acted like weed killer and any doubt withered and died.

                "Forget this!"  Tightening her fingers around the smooth wood of her short bow, Kagome dashed off toward the fight.

                Upon entering what was left of the village, Kagome found herself surrounded by smoke, glowing embers, and dying flames.  The miko grimaced at the random puddles of dark red on the ground, the splashes of red on walls that hadn't been knocked down or burned down, and certain things that made her glad that she wasn't that good at identifying human anatomy.  Up ahead, through the lung clogging smoke, she could make out one figure on the ground, poised with something long and skinny—Miroku.  There was another, larger figure hovering in the air overhead—Sango astride Kirara.  Kagome frowned.  _Why are they just standi—_

                The wind shifted hard enough to remove most of the smoke blocking the girl's view and, as she pulled a ebony strand of hair away from her face, she saw why the hoshi and taiji-ya were remaining motionless: two inuka youkai in their rather large, fear-inspiring, four-legged forms.  The white one was obviously the Shiroshi, and the other one was—

                "Kouga-kun…?" Kagome whispered in awe.

                She'd never seen the ookami's true form and she couldn't help but stare.  He was big, not nearly as big as Sesshoumaru, but a lot meaner and more feral looking.  Instead of the classic black and silver of a typical wolf, Kouga was black with dark brown markings; a light beige colored his muzzle and throat, along with all of his undersides.  Right now, his somewhat ragged-looking ears were pinned back, the thick brownish-black fur on his ruff was bristling, his long white fangs were bared, and his eyes were a glowing blood red.

                Kagome shivered—Kouga's eyes reminded her of Inuyasha when he was trapped within a youkai blood induced rage.  She could do nothing right now, only watch; the two demons were darting about, snapping at each other, and there was no clear shot of the Shiroshi.  She came along side Miroku and waited; he didn't glance in her direction, but did lay his gauntleted hand on her shoulder.  Their side was not fairing well.  Kouga was using his increased speed, but his white opponent was much quicker, dodging the wolf's lunges, while landing a bite or scratch on Kouga's flanks, legs, or neck.

                "He's merely toying with Kouga…" Miroku murmured.  His hand slipped into his robes and came out with a number of ofudas, in anticipation of the opening that would come.

                At the monk's remark, Kagome focused a little closer on the fight.  Was it just her, or was the large white dog moving in an almost…languid manner?  And were his eyes not as consumed by blood lust like Kouga's?  _He's enjoying this…_

                Growling, Kouga crouched low, and then sprang forward, attempting to tackle the white dog—it didn't work.  The larger youkai ducked off to the side, but his paws barely touched the ground when he disappeared in a white blur and Kouga suddenly found himself knocked to the ground, a snarling dog looming over him.

                All onlookers gasped.  This inu youkai was fast, very fast.  _Maybe even faster than Sesshoumaru_, they all thought worriedly.

                The two youkai tussled, each trying to acquire and keep a superior position, all the while trying to bite and claw each other.  Again, Kouga was not doing well, and the Shiroshi was back to toying with his lupine opponent.  Their fight took them out of the village and into the forest—the three humans followed—and trees that had seen countless decades slip by found themselves knocked down by the demons.  Kagome cringed when a high-pitched howl abruptly tore out of Kouga's throat—the dog demon had quit playing and had clamped his jaws on one of the wolf's forelimbs, crushing it, while his claws raked bloody paths across Kouga's chest and abdomen.  The pain brought the wolf a sudden surge of strength and he jerked away, limping on three limbs and trailing blood as he managed to put some distance between him and the Shiroshi before weakness overtook him and forced him onto his side.

                A pink tongue darted out and Kouga's blood disappeared from the Shiroshi's muzzle, returning it to a pristine white.  Head held low, and lips pulled back to reveal lethal-looking fangs, the dog demon slunk toward the weakened wolf, ready to deliver the final bite.

                Kagome shrieked, "NO!!"  Her hand whisked an arrow out of her quiver and nocked it, ready to fire.

                Sango beat her to the punch though, her Hirakoutsu slicing through the air by the time Kagome started to aim.  The boomerang's intended target saw the attack coming and flattened himself to the trampled and bloody grass, letting the weapon sail harmlessly overhead; Sango cursed quietly and watched her weapon lop the tops off a number of tree before turning back.  A louder curse came out of her when the Shiroshi, who'd also been tracing the Hirakoutsu's path, jumped up and snatched the boomerang from the air with his mouth.  Swinging his great head around to glare up at the taiji-ya, the doggy version of a smirk came to the youkai's mouth before his jaw muscles tensed and he proceeded to snap the seven-foot long weapon into three pieces.  The two ends fell and lodged their tips into the soil and the middle was spit out like a cherry pit.

                Sango could do nothing but gawk slack-jawed at the demon.  He'd broken Hirakoutsu!  She'd never thought that was possible.  Crack, yes; break, no.

                "Not good, not good…"  Miroku glanced down at the ofudas in his hand and promptly put them away—the inu youkai would dart out of their path with no problem.  But there was one thing not even this speedy demon could run from…  "Sango!"

                The taiji-ya understood his intent and directed Kirara to land beside him—the fire-cat would not be able to resist the monk's Void.  Miroku tugged the rosary from his cursed hand and unleashed his Kazaana, but to everyone's dismay, it didn't work—when the large white dog felt the Void's pull, he dug his claws in and hunkered down, not budging an inch to the winds that tried to dislodge him.  With a growl of frustration, the hoshi finally closed off his Air Void.

                The Shiroshi stood to his full height, and grinned, and attacked.

                A moment hadn't even passed when the youkai actually yipped and skidded to halt, his front paws sliding out from under him, leaving his haunches high in the air as a glowing arrow whistled right over him—Kagome's arrow.  The crimson faded from his eyes, and for the first time, he looked at the miko with eyes the same color as dark honey.

                Kagome readied another arrow and aimed.  "St- Stay back!" she hollered.  _Inuyasha__, where are you?  I really need your help right now._  She wasn't sure, but could've sworn that the demon rolled its eyes at her.  _Jerk!  You're really gonna get it now!_

                He did stay away, but didn't retreat either.  The dog started to circle the little group, forcing them to put their backs to each other, and examined the three humans and one demon that had the nerve to attack him.

                As he circled, Kagome wondered if she was allowed to think of him as a magnificent creature.  To an impartial observer, one whose life wasn't being threatened, the dog demon was an impressive sight.  Kagome had thought Sesshoumaru was big, but the Shiroshi was bigger, at least 20 feet, maybe even 25 feet, at the withers.  His thick, shiny coat was indeed white, almost pale silver, and it covered a lean, sinewy body that moved more like a cat than a dog.  Unlike the taiyoukai, this inuyoukai lacked a tail, and his ears were perked, like a German shepherd or a huskie's; also, he bore no markings on his cheeks or brow and the only thing that stood out was a rather large Shikon no kakera twinkling in his forehead.

                After a few laps, he stopped and shook his head, as if in disbelief.  There was a shift in youki, and the demon started to shrink and in seconds the Shiroshi had taken a more human form, standing up from his crouched position.  Though his back was turned to them the three humans could pick out a number of features.  They were a little surprised at his height—they figured he would've been taller than Sesshoumaru, but he was actually a little bit shorter.  (Apparently, demon size did not directly translate toward human size.)  His long silvery hair, except for a forelock on each side of his face, was secured at the nape of his neck, and it tickled the backs of his knees.  Instead of light colored clothing, like Sesshoumaru, the Shiroshi favored dark clothing: black sashinuki, and a dark royal blue haori that had a complex web-like pattern sewn into the fine silk with black thread.  It was all covered by a black, sleeveless overcoat that was cut millimeters from the ground, almost making it appear like he was floating—the wind caught the overcoat's tails, causing them to snap quietly, the only sound that could be heard in the desolated village.  The afternoon light glinted off the silver gauntlets he wore on his forearms; they covered the backs of his hands as well and they had an intricate pattern etched into them that was very similar to the pattern stitched into the haori.

                The Shiroshi's shoulders shook a little as a low chuckle was heard.  "A miko…" he growled quietly.  "Of course…"  He brought up his hand, knuckles cracking as he flexed his claws.  "Do you really think you can beat me, little girl?" he continued, his voice low and raspy.

                Kagome bristled at the "little girl" remark.

                "I could show you what I did to the last miko who took a shot at me—it didn't end very well for her."  His knuckles cracked again.  "Or better yet…"  The hand that had been cracking moved to his left side and withdrew the sword hidden by the overcoat.

                In unison, the hoshi, miko, and taiji-ya drew in a sharp breath.  The Shiroshi's battered katana…it looked exactly like the—

                "This might be fun too…"  The blade in his hand flashed and transformed, morphing into a five-foot long blade, but it was not the silver, smooth edged piece of metal the others were expecting; instead, the blade was black and serrated—a wicked-looking piece of weaponry.  "What do you think?"  Turning on his heel, the white-haired youkai finally faced the little group, a taunting smirk on his mouth.

                They gasped, their eyes wide; even Kirara's growl caught in her throat.  Kagome's knees grew weak and she nearly dropped her bow.  To her, the Shiroshi's identity was unmistakable.  The ears were different, now like a true youkai's, his voice a little bit lower, his features sharpened to more demon-like angles, and a single dark red stripe marked each cheek, but Kagome would recognize the individual in front of her anywhere.

                Four little syllables slipped out of the stunned miko:  "Inuyasha…?"

Making Japanese E-Z 4 U!

Inuku=canine, as in the Canidae (Dog) Family

Sashinuki=basically, they're what the Fluffy-chan wears on his lower half (I wanted a sleeker look for the character, so I figured that would be better done with the sakinuki than billowy hakama.)

Holy hentai hoshis, Batman!!  If that ain't a cliffie, I don't know what is… *grins*   Fear not, gentle readers, but I will not abandon this and leave everyone going: "WTF?!?!?!!" (Though I hope that's the reaction people had when they finished this chapter…:-P)  I will explain…eventually.  Might need some…encouragement in that department… *grins evilly*   Seeing as most of you readers are probably like me (no $$$), I'll gladly take your reviews as encouragement, so hit that button on the bottom left!  I know you want to…

Recommended reading: Author-chan's "A Blank Slate"  Great spin on the whole "I remember nothing" premise—wonderful character interactions!

Also, thank you SailorSolara for beta reading this first chap for me! :D


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, you know all that junk I had right before the beginning of the last chapter?  Well, insert them right…

About….

Here.  Yeah.  Here works pretty good.

**Author's responses:**

PerennialOutlander—They're out there, trust me.  Unfortunately, some are not that good…  And you were the 1st reviewer!  Tanx!

SesshoYasha—Ohhhh, believe you me, I definitely will…

****

**Seeds of Doubt**

RaptorChicky

**Chapter 2**

_Thirty-six and a half days earlier…_

                "Inuyasha!!"

                "Dammit, wench!  Stay back!"

                A red and silver blur swooped in front of Kagome and carried her away before the oni's huge mitt could slam down and turn the miko into pate.  The ogre's other hand shot out, trying to swat the hanyou down, but Inuyasha dodged it—in mid-air, no less—and deposited Kagome well beyond the oni's reach.

                "Now stay put!"

                "I want to he—"

                "No, dammit!  I don't want you getting hurt!  Just let me protect you, Kagome!"  Inuyasha leapt back into the fight before Kagome could protest any further.

                The young priestess scowled, but readied another arrow nonetheless.  _Just wish these things actually made a dent…_

                It was like they were fighting the Tsubaki-oni again: Kagome's holy arrows barely made a scratch, Sango's Hirakoutsu was consistently ducked, Miroku's ofudas and Kazaana were almost ignored, and Inuyasha's Kaza no Kisu only pushed the oni back.  The situation was a clichéd one—a shard-carrying demon attacking the little group in hopes of obtaining more, but this was an oni with a shard, meaning a harder fight.  And right now, Kagome thought retreat was becoming a very attractive option, though Inuyasha would never allow it.  Hoping Shippo was still alright in his hiding spot, Kagome glanced down toward Miroku and Kirara protecting an unconscious Sango.  Yards away from the trio, Inuyasha was letting loose with yet another Kaza no Kizu.  It angered him to no ends how the Wind Scar hardly scratched the ogre and how the ogre relied on physical attacks, making it impossible for the hanyou to use his Bakaryuuha.

                _Asshole_, snarled Inuyasha when the oni shrugged off yet another attack and lunged forward, ready to squash the smaller youkai.  He darted out of the way with no trouble—the oni may have had a shard, but it was still slow in Inuyasha's eyes—and an idea started to formulate in his mind as he eyed the cliff the oni had just slammed into.  _Screw this.  If the Kaza no Kizu doesn't hurt this fuck, I'll use it on something that it will affect…_  Turning, Inuyasha attacked the cliff.

                The Wind Scar crashed into the granite, freeing already loose boulders and creating new ones, effectively removing part of the cliff and piling it on top of the oni.  _Let's see 'im survive that._  Inuyasha smirked as he saw his plan work, but his smirk quickly vanished when the oni's hand shot out of the rocky chaos and wrapped around him.  He struggled to free himself, but couldn't, and was pulled over the path's edge with the oni.

                Kagome screamed and nearly jumped off the small ledge she was on, but self-preservation prevented her from leaping to the mountain path 30 feet below.  She could only watch, totally helpless.  The miko hollered for Kirara the moment the rocks ceased their rumbling descent seconds later, too many seconds later for Kagome's liking.  Everything was moving too slowly for her—she wanted to be at the bottom of the cliff right now, making sure that Inuyasha was alright.

                _Move it…_she silently urged the fire-cat and clamored on the moment Kirara got close enough.  Touching solid ground on the mountain path, Kagome yelled for Shippo and Miroku—_Move it, move it…_—the kit dashed out of hiding and hopped on, while Miroku carefully scooped a semi-conscious Sango into his arms before joining Kagome and Shippo on Kirara.  _Too slow!_  Without any urging, Kirara took off for the bottom of the cliff.

                Kagome's fingers tightened in the neko's thick fur and her stomach clenched when they went over the edge—the drop was, well, she didn't know how far it was,  but, it was definitely not as high as the cliff Inuyasha pushed the Peach Man over.  _And Inuyasha survived that fall…only because he landed in a tree, but still!  He'll survive this one, he has to!_

                Nearing their destination, Kagome's self-preservation lost to her impatience and she swung her leg over Kirara and dropped the last 6 feet to the ground.  She landed hard, banging up her knees, but she didn't care.

                "Inuyasha!"

                Shouting the hanyou's name over and over, the miko approached the twitching oni, and removed the shard from its neck; the oni turned to dust and without its body for support, the rocks settled a bit more, forcing the girl back a few steps.

                "Inuyasha!!"

                She and Miroku scrambled over the rubble, hoping to spot a patch of familiar red and silver, but all they saw was the dull grey of the rock.

                "INUYASHA!!"

                Getting desperate, Kagome started to dig through the debris, trying to remember which hand grabbed Inuyasha.  Miroku shook his head and started to reach for the frantic girl, but she turned on him and demanded to know why he was just standing there like an idiot.  Sighing, the monk helped her shove the heavy rubble away.  Twenty minutes later, Kagome's fingers were bleeding, but she continued to shout and dig, not wanting to face the conclusion Miroku had come to.

                Inuyasha was gone.

                His balance faltered and he stumbled forward.  A clawed hand came away from his head and caught himself on a tree trunk before he could fall all the way.  Balance slightly restored, he pulled away from the trunk and staggered forward, not seeing the bloody hand print he left behind.  His head felt like someone had stuffed his ears with wool and then proceeded to keep on stuffing until his entire skull was filled with the scratchy substance.  He could hardly see straight, the only thing he could smell was the blood flowing from his own head wound, and everything sounded completely muffled.  Moments ago, he thought he'd heard a woman crying out, but he shrugged it off as his mind playing tricks.  The jumbled thoughts running through his brain couldn't really be trusted: at one point, he'd thought the sky looked quite green and the grass was equally blue and thought the whole thing was rather hilarious.

                And his chest…  It hurt just to breathe.  He wondered which list would be shorter: ribs that were whole, or ribs that were not.  He wished he could remember why he was in such bad shape, but everything was fuzzy, indistinct.

                The wind suddenly picked up, nearly pushing him over and he jabbed his katana—why was he dragging a beat-up looking piece of metal around, anyway?—into the ground for support.

                "Inuyasha."

                Looking up through shaggy silver bangs that hung over his eyes, he saw a woman dressed in the manner of somebody of high status.  The fan in her hand was whisked open and the winds seemed to grow in strength.  _Inuyasha?  Is that me…?_  "Who—?  Who are you?"  He fought to stand straight, but the wind kept pressing him back and everything was getting fuzzy, especially his vision.  Too fuzzy for his liking.  "Who is—"  Way too fuzzy.  His gold eyes rolled into his head and he collapsed, a sprawl of silver and red against a sea of green grass.

                Kagura smiled.  This was way too easy.  Inuyasha was at her feet, unconscious, completely helpless, and his companions were nowhere in sight.  Absolutely nothing there to stop her.  She 'snicked' her fan shut and lifted it high, preparing to use a wind blade to decapitate the hanyou.  _A pity, though.  I was hoping for something more interesting._  In a swift move, Kagura swung her hand down…only to find her hand empty.  Looking up, the demoness found her fan still in the air, firmly held by another hand.

                "Let him live, Kagura."

                She arched a dark brow at the cloaked figure—she had yet to find out how Naraku made his puppets appear at a moment's notice, where ever he wanted them to.

                The ku-ugutsu held out the fan and Kagura snatched it from him.  "Bring him to me."  And he left, leaving the wind witch to handle the hanyou on her own.

                "Did you bring her like I commanded?"

                "The old hag is sucking in youkai as we speak."

                Naraku ignored the crudeness of Kagura's statement.

                "Care to explain why I had to haul him," she pointed to the motionless silver-haired figure on the floor between them, "back to you, or am I going to remain in the dark again?"

                "Patience.  I only need to check on something."  With a feather light touch, he laid his fingertips across Inuyasha's brow and closed his eyes.

                Reopening them, Naraku found himself at the intersection of a large number of hallways, each hall lined with countless doors that stretched on further than any eye could see.  This was Inuyasha's mind, or rather, how Naraku perceived it to be, but unlike other minds the youkai had invaded, this one appeared to be shaken—walls not meeting the floor and ceiling at right angles, the floor and ceiling not completely parallel to each other—and it was empty, quiet, completely still.  Normally, the halls of an individual's mind were straight and flush and they would be filled with some sort of activity:  a few disembodied voices, a faint scent or two, even a tactile sensation or a visual image.  In very rare occurrences, Naraku's mouth experienced a variety of tastes for no reason at all.  But, in this mind, he found none of that, which was very odd—even when unconscious, a person's memories would still roam free.

                He picked a random hall and started down it.  This hall had numerous other halls branching off of it and those primary offshoots also had halls splitting off of them—an endless maze of halls and doors.  Naraku tried to slide open the first shoji door he came to, but it refused to move.  When he attempted to rip through the rice paper held taught in the wood frame, the paper would knit itself back together before a decent sized hole could be made.  The story was the same with other doors he tried.  Other doors would open only after a great deal of force was applied, but would slam shut when Naraku let go.  A few doors would give way to the demon's touch and allow him access to the rooms beyond, but the rooms were dark, or filled with a thick haze, obscuring his vision and giving him only fleeting images of movement.

                Naraku wandered the hallways of Inuyasha's mind for who knows how long; he found the situations with the doors and rooms repeated over again and again, but he needed to make sure of what was going on before he made his next move.  Satisfied with what he did find, Naraku started to leave, but a faint sound caught his attention.  Straining, he heard it again and followed it to its source—this was the only other sound he'd heard beyond his own footsteps on the wood paneled floor.  He discovered the sound to be emanating from a hall that saw little for visitors, filled with cobwebs and dust.  Naraku understood what it all symbolized—bad memories.  Unlike the more frequented halls, this one was not a straight path, and when Naraku turned a corner, he was quite surprised to find a solid stone wall barring his path.  And right in the middle of the wall was an equally solid looking iron door, which was heavily rusted and covered in locks and chains that secured the door shut.  The noises Naraku was hearing were coming from right behind the locked door and now that he was closer, he could identify the noises: it sounded like the screeching of a raging beast, intermingled with the screams of a frightened child.

                _Interesting.  What kind of memories would Inuyasha lock away from himself?_  But now was not the time to fiddle with the locks and satisfy his curiosity—he wanted some time to figure out what his grand scheme would be.

                He left the stillness of Inuyasha's mind.

                "So?" Kagura inquired the moment Naraku's eyelids slowly slid up.  To him, it felt like hours had passed, but to Kagura, in the real world, it had been only a few seconds.

                Naraku smiled.  "It's better than I'd anticipated."

                "And what did you anticipate, Naraku?"

                The two youkai looked up at the new voice; Kagura scowled at the hunch-backed old woman and Naraku smiled a knowing smirk.

                "Tsubaki.  I hope you had your fill…"

                The koromiko strode into the dimly lit room and her appearance grew younger with each step until she stood before Naraku as a beautiful young woman with elegant features, pale blue eyes, and dove grey hair.  Her light grey shikigami slithered up around her and hissed at the spider demon.  A pale hand came up and calmed the snake shikigami and Tsubaki sighed, "This goes against my better judgment, especially after our previous dealings…but your wind witch said it'd be worth my time.  What do you need of me?"  She'd spotted Inuyasha the moment she'd entered the room and a part of her hoped Naraku would allow her to take the hanyou in and add his strength to her own.  _Wouldn't that be something?  I can almost see Kikyo's face when she finds out that her dear Inuyasha was a part of me._

                "Something ridiculously simple for someone of your abilities…"  His hand motioned toward the hanyou, who was still unaware of his surroundings, "Remove Inuyasha's rosary, the one that binds him to that little miko of his."

                The surprise was clearly evident on Tsubaki's face, her eyebrows lifting partway to her hairline.  "That's all?"

                Nodding, "That is all.  Unless this task is too difficult for you…"

                Tsubaki scoffed.  Of course this wasn't too difficult for her—whoever had cast the subduing spell on the inu hanyou was strong, but not as strong as her.  It would be child's play to remove that rosary.  With no preamble, the koromiko settled down by Inuyasha's head, took the beaded necklace in her hand and slipped it off; the rosary came off with no resistance.  

"Here," she tossed the rosary at Naraku's head—he caught it, "I'm sure you can find a use for that."  Getting back up, she brushed the wrinkles out of her dark blue robes, but Naraku pulled her back down.

                "Now tend to his wounds."

                Her response was to stare at him.

                "I am the lord of this castle.  I will not debase myself by doing such menial tasks."  Standing up, Naraku motioned for a smirking Kagura to follow him as he departed the room.

                Tsubaki muttered under her breath, but did as she'd been asked.

                It took both Miroku and Sango to pull a frantic Kagome away from the fallen debris.

                "No!" shrieked the girl, struggling to get away.  "He's in there somewhere!  We have to get Inuyasha out!"  She suddenly slipped free and immediately started to toss rocks aside again.

                Sango came from behind and hugged the miko tightly, pinning Kagome's arms to her sides.  "He isn't in there, Kagome-chan.  And you've got to stop—you'll just hurt yourself even more.  Inuyasha wouldn't be happy if he found you like this."

                "I don't care!  How happy would Inuyasha be if he found out we—"

                "Hey!  Kirara found something!" shouted Shippo.  His russet head ducked down for a second, and then popped back up.  "And it smells like Inuyasha!"

                The three humans scrambled over the rock pile to get to the kitsune and all breathed a sigh of relief when they found the two demons with their noses close to the ground.

                Miroku frowned.  "He must have wandered off."

                "But why?" Kagome started to wring her hands.  "Hurry and follow his trail, Shippo-chan, please."

                Nodding, the kit went after Kirara and the humans followed.  They were not pleased how Inuyasha's trail wove back and forth as if he were drunk.  Kirara came to a halt beside a tree and chirped, peering up at the trunk.

                Kagome gasped at the sight of the bloody handprint.  "He's hurt!  We gotta hurry!"

                They took off again, this time at a much more hurried pace.  The hanyou's scent trail continued on for another 100 yards or so, leading right into a spacious meadow, where it dead-ended.  The fox and fire-cat wandered around the meadow, trying to relocate Inuyasha's scent, but they find nothing and returned to their friends.  Scowling, the taiji-ya squatted down—she'd spotted an odd dampness in the grass and wanted to get a closer look.  Her scowl grew when her fingers came away wet with a dark crimson fluid—blood.

                "What is going on?"  Sango wiped the blood from her fingers on the ground and stood back up.  "Inuyasha's injured and his path ends in the middle of nowhere.  Are you sure you can't find anything else, Kirara, Shippo-chan?"

                "Well…there was something, but…"  He shuddered.  "I didn't like it."

                Kagome knelt in front of the fox child and made him look at her.  "What do you mean?  Do you know what it was?"

                Biting his lip, "I dunno.  It just smelled…bad.  I don't know what it is—my nose isn't as good as Inuyasha's.  Kirara didn't like it either."

                "…Then I fear that someone has taken Inuyasha."

                The young miko bolted upright, staring at the hoshi.  "Nani?!  But by who?  Sesshoumaru?  Naraku?"  _Kikyo?  Did she finally take Inuyasha to hell?_

                Shaking his head, Miroku shrugged helplessly.  "By either one, or by both, or by somebody completely new.  Right now, we can only search for Inuyasha."

                The koromiko was long gone, escorted off the castle grounds by Kagura, so Naraku took the opportunity to take the next step in his plans.

                Inuyasha was still asleep and he would remain that way as long as Naraku wanted him to.  The red firerat robes were long gone, replaced by pale dusty blue ones that Naraku had provided; the yukata concealed the bandages wrapped around the hanyou's broken ribs, but it certainly did not hide the bandage on Inuyasha's right temple.  That head wound had bled a lot and was still leaking by the time Tsubaki arrived, but after her medical attention, it was well on its way to being completely healed.

                _Onigumo does have his uses from time to time_...Naraku smirked when he picked up the Tetsusaiga from its place on the floor by Inuyasha's side.  _Or I wouldn't be able to even get near this sword._  Unsheathing the seemingly worthless looking katana, he draped the battered sheath across his lap and simply held the Tetsusaiga, examining it.  It had been a long time since he'd last held the powerful youkai blade and he could sense a definite change in the sword's power.  The destructive Kaza no Kizu, the ability to slice through any barrier, and the unstoppable Bakaryuuha were all contained within the beat-up blade—if one didn't see the sword in action, it was impossible to believe that the Tetsusaiga could do more than just hold itself together.  _Hard to believe_, the demon thought as he continued to look the sword over, turning it this way and that.  _I was nearly destroyed by this katana…but now it will destroy for me._

                Placing the Tetsusaiga next to its scabbard, Naraku clasped his hands together and concentrated; a pale violet light glinted through the cracks between his hands and moments later, he opened his hands, revealing a dark violet crystal that was about half the length of his first digit.  Though it was similar in nature to the one the ookami prince had been tricked with—a solidification of toxins and poisons—this crystal had little something more: Naraku's essence, his 'soul,' so to speak, making it like the Shikon shard that controlled the taiji-ya boy.  If everything went as planned, the crystal would act as a link between him and the hanyou and put him in control of just about anything: the Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha's body, and most importantly, Inuyasha's mind.

                Taking the sword again, Naraku gripped the hilt and took the crystal and forced it against the tattered hilt, right below the handgaurd.  The blade sensed the invasion and pulsed and sparked in protest, fighting Naraku's efforts.  Naraku's answer to this was quite simple: he pushed harder.  This was a battle of wills: Naraku's verses the Tetsusaiga's, and the sword's will was partially affected by its master.  And seeing as Inuyasha was lost within the darkness of his unconscious mind, the sword's strength of will was weaker than it should have been.  Naraku sensed two other presences within the blade, but they were faint, almost negligible; the youkai guessed that they belonged to the sword's forger and to Inutaisho, since it was his fang that made the sword possible.  The Tetsusaiga put up a decent struggle to maintain its freedom from violation, but once Naraku put some real force behind the crystal, the katana ceased its protests and the violet crystal was shoved into the handgaurd.

                Naraku smiled, rather pleased with himself—he was the Tetsusaiga's master now.

                One hand delved into his robes and Naraku pulled a familiar dark pink sphere—his portion of the Shikon no Tama.  _And now, time to deal with the hanyou…_

OMG!  What's that evil jerk going to do to our precious Inu-chan?!  And just how much more of this flash back s*** are you readers going endure before you snap?!  maniacal laugh  For those of you who don't like the flash back s***, tough, this chapter was just the beginning…and I have a lot of time to cover…and I have plans…  rubs hands together in a rather evil fashion

And, now, the part you've all been waiting for….the translations.

Koromiko=black priestess

Ku-ugutsu=Naraku's clones/puppets

Shikigami=best way I can explain it is that shikigami are "helper spirits" (If you watch/read "Shaman King" you know exactly what these guys are—Yoh's grandfather uses them a bit.)

Okay, I'm going to address the whole "Naraku reading minds" thing before anybody has a fit within their review…  As we all know, Goshinki's main weapon was the ability to read his opponents thoughts, without any tactile contact.  And since Goshinki was a detachment of Naraku, I figure that Naraku has this ability as well, he just isn't as specialized in it as his detachment.  Naraku has so many abilities, taken from the demons he's absorbed, he isn't able to hone each one to perfection; his "kids" are his abilities perfected (e.g. Kagura=wind, Kanna=nothingness; read vol 16 of the Inuyasha manga).

Now review, darn it!


	3. Chapter 3

Last I checked, the summary, rating, ect, haven't changed…except that I DO own Inuyasha!  Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!  Those ears are all mine….

Series of cars doors slamming shut is heard outside and RaptorChicky peeks outside, spotting a quartet of thuggish looking lawyer-types approaching the front door.

Never mind.  Me no own!

Lawyer thugs speed off in their Porches.

Whew.  I'm too poor to handle a lawsuit… :)

KC—I am more than happy to oblige, and I'm glad you like this so far.

**Seeds of Doubt**

RaptorChicky

**Chapter 3**

                He was alive—the burning ache within his chest and his skull was proof of that.  Groaning, he brought his hands up to temples to massage them.  His hand froze when his fingers brushed against the cloth pressed against his right temple.  Taking his hand away, he could detect the faint scent of blood on his fingers, though he couldn't see any.  He stopped again to examine his hand—two crimson stripes elegantly arched from his inner arm, over the outside of his wrist, and up onto the back of his hand.  Bringing his left hand into view, he saw that appendage had stripes as well.  They didn't appear to be injuries, or scars, or even painted on—they were completely natural markings, though part of him felt that the stripes shouldn't be there.  He briefly wondered if he stripes anywhere else.  His thoughts came back to the bandage on his temple.  He flinched when he furthered his inspections.  _I got hurt.  When did that happen?  And how?_  He tried to remember, but was disturbed when he couldn't and he grew more troubled when he discovered that he couldn't remember anything.  So troubled that he panicked.

                Heart racing, he jerked upright, flinging the light covers off of him, only to yelp in pain and wrap his arms around his screaming ribs.

                A strong hand rested lightly on his hunched shoulder.  "Inuyasha—"

                He flinched away, staring at the dark eyed, dark haired man.  "Where—?"

                "It's alright, Inuyasha-sama.  You're safe here."  The man's hand took him by the shoulder again and gently pushed him back down onto the futon.  "You've been injured and you need to rest."

                "But I—"

                Another hand brushed over his troubled golden eyes, forcing them to close. "Rest, Inuyasha-sama, rest," the man ordered quietly.

                Reluctantly, he did relax, letting his heart rate return to a calmer pace.  Rest did sound like a good idea…  And he did know one thing about himself—his name.

                Inuyasha.

                It just sounded…right.

^*^*^*^*^*

                Naraku chuckled to himself when Inuyasha's breathing indicated that he'd fallen back asleep.  This was one ruse that he was looking forward to—pretending to care about someone's well-being and having that someone put their trust in him was always a kick for him.  He'd enjoyed playing nursemaid for the taiji-ya, wringing as much cruel irony out of the situation as possible.  But this new situation promised to be even more interesting; if all things worked out, Inuyasha would be working for him, never realizing that Naraku was the one youkai he wanted dead until it was too late.

                He wondered what Inuyasha's reaction would be to the idea that the hanyou's wish for full demon hood had been granted by his greatest enemy.  More irony for Naraku to chuckle at.  Inuyasha the inu-hanyou no longer existed, replaced by Inuyasha the inu-youkai, all thanks to the generous gift of a Shikon shard.  The young demon had stirred and moaned when Naraku placed the shard in his brow and the Jewel's magic did its thing, but Inuyasha remained blissfully unaware as his human blood was fully suppressed and he was physically transformed into a true demon—thankfully, not the wild youkai that had slaughtered Goshinki months ago.

                And there were no worries about the Tetsusaiga rejecting a youkai Inuyasha—the crystal embedded in the hilt let Naraku do just about whatever he felt like doing to Inuyasha and the sword, and that included dropping the barrier spell just enough so only he and Inuyasha could touch the sword.

                But now was time for something Naraku had been looking forward to: messing with Inuyasha's mind from the inside.  Closing his eyes, Naraku promptly found himself within the jumbled maze of doors and halls again—he no longer needed tactile contact to worm his way into Inuyasha's mind, all thanks to that versatile little crystal.  Instead of wandering, like he had done before, Naraku stood patiently at the intersection, waiting to hear the faint howls and screams, and when he did, he strode purposefully through the twisting halls, going directly for the locked iron door.  Naraku had encountered barricade minds before and he'd always plowed right through the defenses, but Inuyasha's barricade withstood any effort put forth by Naraku to open it.  Despite its rusted appearance, the door was stronger than anything Naraku had run into before.

                _There is one thing I haven't tried yet…_  And he was not anticipating its use, either.  "Onigumo."

                Another figure suddenly appeared next to Naraku.  He was just as tall as the demon and had a similar face, but he was dressed in a more slovenly fashion.

                "Well, what does the great and powerful youkai, Naraku, wish of this lowly human?"  There was no subservience in Onigumo's voice, only taunting sarcasm.

                Naraku hated this.  He did not enjoy being reminded that he was not a full youkai and Onigumo's human taint would always remain, whether the demon wanted it or not.  And the thief was sure to rub it in—he'd done it before with great relish.  "The locks," Naraku ordered.  "Deal with them."

                Onigumo bowed deeply at the waist, "Of course.  Your wish is my command."  The human thief promptly went to work on the numerous locks securing the iron door.

                Gritting his teeth, Naraku beat down the urge to purge himself of the human once and for all, knowing full well that without Onigumo's presence, he would literally fall apart and cease to exist.  The urge to kill gone, he began to imagine what sort of dark memories Inuyasha hid behind the locked door.  _I wonder…  Is Kikyo behind that door?  Or does he force himself to remember her every moment, letting his guilt gnaw away at his soul?_  Naraku rather enjoyed that thought.

                There was a heavy clink and the demon looked up in time to catch sight of the final lock being removed and the thick chains falling to the floor, scratching and denting the wood panels in spots.

                "Ah, what would you do without me?"  Onigumo smirked and his head tilted off to the side slightly, "Oh…  Wait…"

                "Enough."  With a quick sweeping motion of his hand, Naraku removed Onigumo from his sight and placed him back in the farthest reaches of his mind, where the human could no longer taunt him.  Now all that stood between the youkai and his curiosity was a pile of rusty chains and locks and a very bare iron door.

                Stepping over the jumbled heap, Naraku grasped the door's handle—the screams and howls seemed to increase in volume in response—and pulled with all his might.  Initially, the door refused to give, fused shut by the thick layer of rust, but Naraku continued to tug and pull, and soon, the door slowly started to swing open.  The hinges squealed in protest, not used to being used after such a long time of neglect; Naraku cringed at the ear-shattering pitch.  Releasing the handle, Naraku forced both hands into the crack he'd formed and pulled, making the hinges squeal more; when the gap was large enough, he placed himself between the jam and door and pushed, laying his shoulder against the metal to maximize his force.  After a few grunts of effort, he took a step back from the iron door.

                The door was finally open.

                And Naraku found himself surrounded by the stillness of a crypt.

                No more screams of fright, no more enraged howls.  All gone, replaced by the quietness that fill the rest of Inuyasha's mind.

                A deep frown came to Naraku's mouth in response to the sudden change.  His frown grew when he peered into the hallway that the iron door had once barricaded: the walls in this hall were blank, with no doors and the 'T' intersection at the end.   Highly intrigued, Naraku stepped all the way into the passageway, quickly noting how this part of the hanyou's mind appeared to be unshaken, as if the door had protected it from any damage.

                A smile twitched on Naraku's lips.  _Until now…_

                He came to a halt at the top of the 'T,' his eyes going wide; the hall to his left looked like a typhoon had hit it—shoji doors hung off their tracks at odd angles, the walls were punched full of holes or gouges, and the floors were too.  In areas, there were splotches of dark red and the smell of death and decay hung heavy in the poorly lit hall.  The hall to his right was the complete opposite: clean, well-lit, inviting even, despite the toys scattered all over the floor.  Naraku had to wonder at the odd juxtaposition of the two paths.

                But which one should he investigate first?

                Both held the promise of useful information, so Naraku mentally flipped a coin and chose to go left, down the dark hall.

                "You shouldn't go that way."

                He spun at the sound of the small voice, tensing to defend himself.  Naraku relaxed a little when he saw the speaker: a little inu-hanyou child, no more than 4 or 5 years old.  Looking up at the older demon with worried gold eyes, "He'll get mad and he's mean when he gets mad," he clutched the stuffed toy a little closer to his chest.  Before Naraku could ask who "he" was, the little hanyou darted off, disappearing into a near-by room, sliding the shoji door shut behind him.

                Naraku had to stare at the door the child used—that was Inuyasha?  The youkai scowled; the hanyou had been disgustingly cute.  And it had been the first time he'd been warned not to go somewhere within an individual's mind.  He threw a glance over his shoulder at the darkened hall.  _Now I really need to know what's down there…_

                Ignoring the hanyou child's warning, Naraku headed straight into the messed-up hallway.  He peeked past the doors that hung at odd angles and could see nothing happening in the rooms beyond.  At the first door that didn't appear to be broken, Naraku pushed it open and found his environment had gone through a sudden change: he was surrounded by dead bodies, all of them humans, and bandits from the look of it.  Turning in place, he saw that there was a trail of human bodies, with a scattering of horses and all them appeared to have been ripped to shreds; he barely reacted when he noticed that he was standing in a pool of fresh blood—one of many that damped the ground in the area.  _So, where's the killer of all these bandits?  They were terrified._  The expressions they wore were very similar to the humans he'd killed when their life forces abandoned their bodies.

                "Teme…"

                Spinning around yet again, this time at a low growl, Naraku was forced to duck as a silver blur came rushing at him and he could feel the claws of his attacker slipping just past his head.  He expected his attacker to be some hideous demon, but there stood Inuyasha, swathed in his familiar fire-rat robes, but they were soaked with blood.

                "You're not wanted here," the hanyou growled out in a harsh voice.  A small gust of wind pushed the silver hair from his face and Naraku found a pair of blood red eyes glaring at him.  The sharply clawed fingers cracked loudly and blood dripped freely from his fingertips.

                _So, this is Inuyasha when he looses control._

                "Get out!"

                Naraku took a step back when Inuyasha lunged at him and slammed the door shut; he jumped back when a clawed hand burst through the rice paper, reaching for him.  There was a low growl and the hand was withdrawn.

                After that incident, Naraku didn't bother to inspect the other rooms—the reaction was bound to be similar.

                Migrating out of the dark hall, the youkai scowled.  This was certainly a day for firsts: the first time he'd encountered a barren mind, the first time he'd barely gotten past a mental barricade, the first time he'd been warned, and the first time he'd been attacked.  It just wasn't right.  With the others, the 'occupants' ignored his presence, letting him go where ever he wanted to go with no harassment.  But Inuyasha's mind…  Naraku kept finding himself wandering into new, possibly dangerous, terrain.

                Naraku suddenly smiled to himself.  Even if things didn't work out as planned, the youkai could still look back at the challenges of Inuyasha's mind and enjoy the fact that he'd overcome them.

                Though he wasn't sure what challenge was waiting for him in the brightly lit hall in the front of him; the only threat he could think of was tripping over the scattered toys. 

                Stepping out of the shadows and into the light, Naraku felt a light tugging on his hakama, accompanied by a quiet giggle; he looked down just in time to catch sight of a small streak of pale silver and red darting behind him.  The tugging came again, this time on his other leg, and Naraku's hand shot down and snatched the culprit before he could run away.  Lifting up the culprit to eye level, Naraku found himself holding Inuyasha, younger this time, three years old at the most.  The pup looked back at him with wide, innocent eyes, then giggled and grinned, revealing his tiny little fangs.

                "D'you wanna play wit me?"

                _Unbelievable._  Naraku responded to the pup's request by loosening his grip on the fire-rat haori and letting the three old drop.  Inuyasha landed ungracefully on his rear, a high-pitched "Ite!" bursting out of him; he scowled up at the youkai—even by three, Inuyasha had established his trademark expression—and scrambled off, disappearing into a room a short distance away from the one the five year old had used.  _Now, where do I start…?_

                He chose the door the three year old had slipped past—he was interested in what kind of memory Inuyasha retained from so early in his life.  Very rarely did an individual remember events from before the age of three or four—a self-imposed, natural amnesia, if you will—so if Inuyasha had a memory from the age of three, it had to be an important one.

                Gently sliding the shoji door open, Naraku's environment changed, just like before, but unlike before, his new environment did not interact with him.  The players in the scene ignored the youkai as he passed through their midsts, wandering around their 'stage.'  No longer in the toy littered hall, Naraku stood in a large, ornate room and from the furnishings, it was the bedchamber of a very important noble.

                Silk curtains of a deep shade of red draped across the gleaming white walls.  Paintings, all depicting dog demons in their true form, were hung in strategic places.  A trio of katanas were sitting in their display on a low-set, lacquered table across from the door, the light streaming in through a near-by window illuminating them—Naraku promptly recognized the Tetsusaiga and Tensaiga, but the third one remained a mystery.  The fragrant scent of lilies wafted through the air and that was no surprise, as most of the scattered vases were filled with the blooms.

                And there, slumped forward in a well-cushioned chair at the foot of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, his long fingers steepled in front of his face, was Sesshoumaru, but younger, 60, maybe even 70 years younger.  The youkai lord sat motionless, his gold eyes fixed on the couple in front of him.

                The human woman would be easily considered a beauty by both ningen and youkai standards, but at the moment, her beauty was hidden by a mask of grief as tears continuously fell from her dark, violet eyes.  The reason for her tears was lying next to her on the bed, practically hidden by the thick cushions supporting his head and the silken sheets covering his frame.

                It was clear that the silver-haired youkai had been very powerful at one time, but no more: each breath that he fought for rattled within his lungs, and his complexion was a wickedly pale hue, which only served to accentuate the dark shadows under his eyes.  The extent of his injuries was unknown, due to him being so covered up.

                "Oh, why did you have to go?" the woman moaned.

                "Chichiue had no choice," Sesshoumaru remarked softly from his perch.  "Ryukoutsi was a threat that had to be dealt with and Chichiue was the only one who could do it."

                _Chichiue?_ Naraku arched a brow in interest._  So, this is the previous Lord of the Western Lands…  And that ryu youkai did eventually kill him._  The spider demon could finally see where the two dog demon brothers got their looks—Sesshoumaru's elegant features must have come from his mother, while Inuyasha took after his father, with just little bit of his human mother's blood to soften the harsh demon angles.

                "But why alone?" the woman—Naraku assumed she was Inuyasha's mother—continued.  "Inutaisho could have brought the others—"

                "Those idiots would've gotten in the way, Izayoi," came a quiet interruption.  The dog demon coughed violently, shaking with each croup, and wiped the blood from his mouth.  "Quiet now, we have a spy…"  Looking past the woman, he mustered up a weak smile, "I know you're there, Inuyasha.  Come in here."  He laid a hand on the woman's knee when she started to protest, silencing her.  "Hush, koi.  He should be here.  I want to see both of my sons."  Inutaisho's son, not much older than a toddler, peeked out from between the cracked open bedchamber doors, his ears laid back in hesitation, and then he ran inside and pulled himself up onto the bed to settle himself next to the taiyoukai.

                "Papa, ev'one says you're goin' 'way.  D'you have to?  You jus' got back," the little pup asked, pouting a little.

                The inu-youkai rubbed his son's head, mussing with the fuzzy ears.  "I'm afraid they're right, Inuyasha.  I do want to stay, but I really have no say in it—"

                "NO!"  Inuyasha flung himself at his father, latching onto the youkai's chest, as if he alone could prevent him from getting away.  "I don' want you to leave!"

                Izayoi tried to pull him off, but her mate stopped her yet again.  "Pup…" he warned gently before another bout of croups jolted through his body.  "Neither one of us can do anything about this.  But there is something you can do…"  He draped one arm over Inuyasha's delicate shoulders, holding him close, and started to lightly comb his claws through the thick silver hair.  "If you keep me here…" he tapped a claw against Inuyasha's forehead, "…and here…" he motioned toward Inuyasha's heart, "…I won't really leave.  Do you understand?"

                Tears started to leak into the hanyou's eyes as he nodded slowly.  He buried his face into his father's shoulder.  "I still don' want you to go…"

                "I know, I know…"  Laying his silver head back, Inutaisho closed his eyes.  "Mind your ofukuro and take care of her."  He released a slow sigh and relaxed into the silken bedding.

                The chair Sesshoumaru had been sitting in suddenly found itself knocked back when the inu-youkai jolted upright.  Understanding the reason for Sesshoumaru's abrupt move, Izayoi released a high pitched wail of grief and sobbed into her dead husband's shoulder as her hair fanned out around her like a raven's wing.  Inuyasha peered up at his father's peaceful face in confusion.

                "Papa?"  The pup lightly shook the youkai's shoulder, but got no response.  "Papa??  Papa!"

                _And so he dies._  Naraku had seen enough and left—he now understood why Inuyasha had a memory from such a young age.  His devious little mind immediately set itself to figuring out how he could utilize this new information.  _Oh, the possibilities…_

^*^*^*^*^*

                Well over an hour had passed in the real world by the time Naraku left Inuyasha's mind and opening his eyes, but it had more than enough time for him to finish his exploring and…change a few things around.  Getting up to leave, the demon had to smile, as he was very pleased with himself.  Though it would be considered sick and twisted by just about everyone else, Naraku was honestly having fun with this plan.

Translations

Ite: "ow", "ouch", or in this case, "owie"

Koi: love, sweetheart, ect.  Not the carp in this instance.

Ryu: dragon

Shoji: those spiffy sliding doors everyone seems to have in the series

Teme: rude version of "you".  If you watch the imported Inuyasha, you'll hear him say this A LOT.

For those detail Nazis: I have to yet to see the 3rd Inuyasha movie (hurry up and get it on DVD!), so just bear with me on the swords and the names of Inuyasha's parents—Inutaisho is correct, but I've seen 2 names for the mother, Yuki and Izayoi, and I saw Izayoi 1st, so…first come, first served.

Well, there's the third chapter in this monstrosity…  I honestly loved writing this one out—it just flowed from my brain to the notebook.  And my beta reader really wanted more…  I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!  Now go review.  Please?


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, DO NOT kill me!! Please! Over the past few MONTHS (yes, months), I've been TRYING to come up with something for this story. I have failed, sort of: I managed to get most of the last third or forth of this story completed, so whenever I get to that point, there will be shorter waiting periods (unless I'm being a bastard…) between chapters. Now, here's the really sucky part: this (motions down) is all I have written up for this chapter. I feel so ashamed of myself!! I guess you can consider this a teaser of sorts.

Now, the good news: I am taking a rather long break from working, so I now have more time to bang my head against a wall in hopes of forcing an idea or two or three into my thick German/Polish skull. I'm making no promises though…

Do you remember all that disclaimer junk that everybody puts at the beginnings of their chapters? Picture it here.****

RaptorChicky responds!!!

Shinna, terrawolf, Oracle of the Stars, Impatient Person, hyper demon: Yeah, you can see I failed to comply with your requests… Gomen nasai!!!

… (honest, this is what they put down): Miroku and Sango getting amnesia? I've never seen those—I might want to give them a read. I have read a few with Kagome getting amnesia though. Some were good, some were simply crap.

**Seeds of Doubt**

RaptorChicky

**Chapter 4**

There were times when Kagura wanted nothing more than to rip Naraku's lungs out and show them to him as he would gasp for breath and then die at her feet.

This was one of those times…

She simply couldn't believe the request—no, order—he had given her. _I am to act as that hanyou's nursemaid?! What kind of rubbish is this?! This is his plan, not mine—he should be the one to watch over that hanyou!_ Kagura fumed as she strode down the hall; unknown to her, her anger was rustling up a faint wind that stirred around her, rippling her kimono and playing with her hair. Earlier, when Naraku had given his orders, she had to fight to keep from protesting—she was still on his "shit list" for going to Sesshoumaru for help—but she obeyed like the good little detachment that she was, even after Naraku's instruction of referring to the hanyou as "Inuyasha-sama."

"'Lord Inuyasha'. Hmph!" she snorted. _I don't even get that kind of respect and I'm a full-blooded youkai._ The wind witch came to a halt in front of the door that separated her from the room where Inuyasha lay resting and she glared at it; if it had been within her capabilities, she would have burned two neat little holes in the shoji door. Her orders made no sense: take care of the demon who had damn near killed her in their first meeting and treat him as an ally. Kagura knew that Inuyasha possessed no memories of his past and that Naraku had made sure that he would never remember, or if Inuyasha did remember, the memories would be twisted; the inu hanyou would not recognize her, meaning he wouldn't recall what they done to each other, but she didn't care. If the situation was reversed, she highly doubted that she would be treated as an ally, so she wasn't going to drop her guard just becau—

A faint whimpering broke off Kagura's fuming. Blinking, she sought out the source of the sound and was surprised to find it coming from Inuyasha's room. _It sounds almost like a frightened puppy…_ The whimpering increased and Kagura could hear the rustle of cloth against cloth, as if Inuyasha was thrashing against his covers. Curious, and a little worried, her hand reached out to slide the door open.

"NO!! Hahaue!!!"

The sudden terrified shout froze Kagura to the spot, her hand still reaching out. Her stillness was broken by a series of dull pounding from the room and she shoved the door open, only to be forced back against the wall by a silvery blur. Looking down, she was shocked to find Inuyasha huddled on the floor, trembling ever so slightly and whimpering quietly as his long silver hair spilled around him like a curtain. He twitched when Kagura bent down and lightly touched his shoulder, but then he suddenly latched onto her and released a strangled sob.

"Weak…too weak to stop them…" he choked out in a wavering voice. "Hahaue…"

Another shock came to Kagura when she found her arms wrapping around the clearly troubled dog demon and one hand slowly combing through the thick mane of hair in what could be considered a comforting gesture. As she looked down at the silver head buried in the maroon and cream silk of her kimono, she wondered if it was maternal instinct that made her show this uncharacteristic amount of compassion to someone she considered an adversary. The cynical part of Kagura wondered if she even had maternal instincts. Pushing that little mystery away, she lifted her eyes up from the distraught Inuyasha and, peering into his room, discovered the sheets that had covered him were torn to shreds and tossed aside, almost covering the deep claw marks that gouged into the floor beside the futon. Her mouth tightened and she glanced back down at the hanyou. _What was he dreaming ab—_

"What the hell…?" she whispered._ What happened to his ears?!_

Earlier, she'd been too surprised to notice that Inuyasha had undergone a physical transformation, not a big one, but there were definite changes, like his ears, for instance. The furry white dog ears were no longer perched on the top of his head and were replaced by the pointed ears of a true youkai, positioned on the sides of his bowed head. _How…?_ Tilting her head, Kagura took a closer look, trying to get a better look at Inuyasha's face: she spotted the dark red stripes adorning his wrists, and found a matching stripe on his cheek—there was certainly going to be a matching stripe on his opposite cheek—sweeping across the flawless skin like a slash mark from a blade…or claw. And his aura was different as well—his youki was that of a full blooded demon, not of a half breed. There was something else different about Inuyasha's aura, but Kagura wasn't quite sure how to describe it and her eyes traveled over the shuddering dog demon, searching for the cause of Inuyasha's transformation.

A faint twinkle partially hidden by the hanyou's—or was that youkai's?—thick bangs caught the wind witch's attention and she lightly brushed the silky hair out of the way, which resulted in her taking in a sharp breath: there, right in the middle of Inuyasha's forehead, was a dark pink shard, a Shikon shard. Kagura stared at the Shikon no kakera in amazement; she had no idea that it was possible for one little jewel shard to change a hanyou into a youkai—she'd always figured it would take a whole Shikon no Tama to do that—but, somehow, Naraku had done it.

"What has he done to you?" she murmured.

No one answered—not Inuyasha, nor the figure hidden in the shadows at the far end of the hall.

Pulling away from the little scene, a smile tugged at the corner of Naraku's mouth.

Yeah, review if you want to. I don't care. I probably don't deserve them anyway for being such a slacker…  
Oh, who am I kidding? Review. I need inspiration. Desperately.


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